Buy new:
-29% $21.90
FREE delivery May 21 - 24 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon
Sold by: MK Express Buy
$21.90 with 29 percent savings
List Price: $31.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery May 21 - 24 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery May 20 - 23
$$21.90 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$21.90
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon
Ships from
Amazon
Sold by
MK Express Buy
Sold by
MK Express Buy
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$13.00
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Nice clean copy with no highlighting or writing. We take pride in our accurate descriptions. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Nice clean copy with no highlighting or writing. We take pride in our accurate descriptions. Satisfaction Guaranteed. See less
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$21.90 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$21.90
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Dave Gerr
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Nature of Boats: Insights and Esoterica for the Nautically Obsessed Paperback – September 22, 1995

by Dave Gerr (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 74 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$21.90","priceAmount":21.90,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"21","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"90","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"3IN0VisP6UUBFqIRNR2qQhVZI01bFmF4NZfOtWzqIW0GKubArdxhJ%2FXNJk%2FWy%2F59H%2B%2FWXil%2Bg8Dzx9KqLP3qq9sE6pWDdRvxEL7QdhISyUP9JiKSRPie2ugbabOsFMUp9V7lsqTCZUCFXcd1xFFIKQZCti1NwbLNGi0INa8jEyywrxXcvA0sOKdc%2FVRRusbg","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$13.00","priceAmount":13.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"3IN0VisP6UUBFqIRNR2qQhVZI01bFmF4uzGe9ajLkX3syRtxO3%2FcQCOPDQn7df1V93S30REAwsaDdtlwA8V8tCj4PfDPl%2F7qX8y7IXblQGjyaGaAvnlFOVUpe2CZREBqz6UUJQwYnwsFMgAK8mqHE%2BMjVfS6ifjCBOGbr3X4sEFyJV0aNyBOhzDke8t447rv","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Boat noodling. Boat lovers suffer universally from this benign affliction. In its mildest form, boat noodling is nothing more than wondering why that sloop in the next slip is faster than yours. In a more significant manifestation it could mean serious daydreaming--drifting off for extended periods, sketching design ideas on the back of an envelope. Chances are, if you've picked up this book just to see what's in it, you're beyond help.

Naval architect Dave Gerr offers the perfect antidote, a browser's reference to understanding how boats tick: all you've ever wanted to know about boats--power and sail, racer and cruiser; dinghy and motoryacht.

In the clear, friendly, nontechnical style that has made his column for Offshore magazine so enduring and popular, Gerr explains everything from how thick a hull should be to why one sailboat tips less than another, from choosing an engine to designing a rig for your trawler yacht, from building a dinghy to simple rules of thumb for dozens of design quandaries.

Gerr writes for the boat noodler in all of us--those seriously interested in learning and dreaming about all types of watercraft. There is no better way to become a better sailor, equipped to handle any contingency. And there's no better place to start than right here.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    418 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
  4. Publication date
    September 22, 1995
  5. Dimensions
    7.3 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    007024233X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0070242333
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

The Nature of Boats: Insights and Esoterica for the Nautically Obsessed
$24.00
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by St33l Book Stor3 and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
+
The Elements of Boat Strength: For Builders, Designers, and Owners
$32.19
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
Only 16 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by McGrawHill and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
+
Boat Mechanical Systems Handbook (PB)
$43.61
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15
Only 20 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

If you are not not nautically obsessed prior to reading this book, you will most certainly be afterword.''

It's sort of a cross between David Macaulay's The Way Things Work and a volume of Andy Rooney essays. Which means it's fun and educational at the same time.''

It's quite obvious Gerr understands the weaknesses of those of us afflicted with a passion for boats. Furthermore, he trades on our insatiable appetite for nautical tidbits. And he does it well. There's hardly an aspect of yacht design, construction, and operation that he doesn't touch on in his cheerful, chatty manner.''

About the Author

Dave Gerr (rhymes with “bear”) is a naval architect who designs both yachts and commercial vessels. Gerr Marine has been in business since 1983 and has designed everything from dinghies to 60-foot around-the-world racing sailboats, an 82-foot aluminum voyaging motoryacht, and currently, redesign work on the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarines. Gerr is a contributing editor with Boatbuilder, Yachting, and Offshore magazines.HOMETOWN: New York, NY

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1st edition (September 22, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 418 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 007024233X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0070242333
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.64 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.3 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Dave Gerr

Dave Gerr

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dave Gerr (rhymes with "bear") is a naval architect who designs both yachts and commercial vessels. Gerr is the author of Propeller Handbook, The Elements of Boat Strength , The Nature of Boats, and Boat Mechanical Systems Handbook , all published by International Marine/McGraw-Hill. He has written over 400 articles on boats and boat design that have appeared in almost every major boating magazine, and he has been a contributing editor for Yachting, Offshore, and Boatbuilder magazines.

A graduate of the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology, Gerr studied physics at New York University and industrial design at Pratt Institute. A Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), Gerr served as the director of the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology from 2003 through 2015. He is a senior lecturer at SUNY Maritime College, where he teaches engineering graphics, applied naval architecture, and boat design.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
74 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

John M. Schubert
5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge and Understanding that You Won't Get Anywhere Else
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2015
Verified Purchase
This written in a way that is like advice for the guy the next slip over. Dave Gerr a naval architect and while some of the knowledge is technical, it is presented in an easy to understand format and personal. One of the great strengths of the book is most chapters are a story, relating some personal experience, problems encountered and how he solved or attempted to solve them. Each chapter is short and it's lesson will not bore you.

The chapters are un-related so each stands on it's own; for that reason alone it is hard to review the Nature of Boats. I do know that every night I picked it up and read a chapter or three and found my knowledge expanded in a light-hearted way.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Suppresst
5.0 out of 5 stars For me - a treasure trove
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2009
Verified Purchase
I have always had a fondness for boats. My every attempt to learn more about them was unsatisfying. Magazines, sales literature, or attending boat shows failed to supply the information I yearned to know. I wanted to understand boats, not just know about them.

Dave Kerr gets to the heart of the matter in this volume. While not containing all one might want to know about why certain boats function they way they do, how they are built, and what the individual reader should be looking for in selecting or designing a boat, this book goes a long way, and makes it easy to understand what the next step would be in pursuing a particular boat subject-matter more thorougly.

Kerr's prose is eminently readable - he even includes several semi-fictional antecdotes to bread up the tedium of boat-facts.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
manwithcash
5.0 out of 5 stars Hide this from your spouse!
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2007
Verified Purchase
If my wife read this book, she would divorce me instantly, as she would understand why a Nautically Obsessed person will never change, and will get worse as time goes by.....

Honestly, this book made me realize there are others like me that can't stop thinking about boats and the ocean! It feeds the fire burning in your soul and loads you up with all kinds of facts, concepts, and the author's experience to send you off to the drawing board, the boat show, or maybe West Marine. Great writing and a flow of information that will make you not want to let it down until you've committed to memory. While you're at it, get "Elements of Boat Strength" also. Highly recommended!
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Ginni Baughman
4.0 out of 5 stars More of a personal experience than hard information.
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Interesting life experiences and teachable stories.
Helpful
 Report
J. Holloway
5.0 out of 5 stars Nature of Boats by Dave Gerr
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
If you are a boater or are looking to get started in boating this book gives you insights on how hulls, engines, sail plans, powerboat designs were developed to accomplish a given task. Such as fishing, cruising, speed, fuel efficient, diesel vs. gas, sail plans, etc. A very good book to help you decide what kind of boat is best for your boating location and intended use. If you are interested in going long far afield of your home base, under power, you should also read Voyaging Under Power by Captain Robert Beebe.
Helpful
 Report
Pete
5.0 out of 5 stars Unsinkable
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
If you're thinking about building a boat or your generally interested in boats this is a great resource.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
johnnydfred
3.0 out of 5 stars Not a must have, but good approach to thinking.
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2013
Verified Purchase
Great different take on what is required to be an adequate craft. Not a reference tome, but good read throughout.
Helpful
 Report
Zachary Shipley
5.0 out of 5 stars One of My Favorites on Its Admittedly Esoteric Subject
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
One of my favorites on its admittedly esoteric subject. Tells a payment--presumably a boat owner or buyer--what he/she might like to know that a naval architect knows about the engineering aspects of boat design.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
GRS
3.0 out of 5 stars Pésima calidad de impresión
Reviewed in Spain on November 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
Bueno, admito que todavía no he empezado a leerlo. Seguro que el contenido es muy bueno porque he leído otro libro de Gerr uy es excelente.

El problem con la edición que he recibido de "The Nature Of Boats" es que la calidad de la impresión es pésima. Parece como si alguien hubiera fotocopiado el libro original y lo haya encuadernado. Pésima resolución.
Report
Dan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book from a great expert!
Reviewed in Canada on April 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
The author and this book are really great. Loads of knowledge and expertise at your hands. The only outdated things are the pictures. They are kind of blurry, black and white, not good definition. I’m a visual learner and pictures to me are important. Since I’m not knowledgeable about boats, many times I had to google images of whatever was being discussed in the book to have a better sense. But other than this, the book is excellent!
Report
Michl
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Germany on September 28, 2014
Verified Purchase
It's a fantastic book.

I love it.

It shows all things who make the fascination of the boats an the boat sport.
One person found this helpful
 Report
colin
5.0 out of 5 stars All manner of technical information supporting the design and construction of small boats
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
A superb book dealing with just about every aspect of the design of power and sailing boats, packed with practical advice - much based upon the author's own experiences - and containing all manner of simple formulae with which to calculate the essential parameters of a boat's optimum design. Every boat designer, builder, repairer and owner should have a copy to hand. Excellent value.
Report
eric the red
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
Brilliant book!
Report